Mass Transit (Airline, Cruise Ship, Train, Bus)

• FELA Verdict in Nebraska

  John Inserra | August 13, 2007 8:31 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  A Nebraska railroad worker won a nearly $2.8 million verdict against the Union Pacific Railroad for a workplace injury that went to trial last week at U.S. District Court in Omaha. Kendall Walsh lost the use of his right arm after it was crushed by a concrete railroad tie that fell off a pile at an Iowa railroad crossing two years ago. A jury sided with Walsh on Friday but found him partially...

• FELA Verdict

  John Inserra | June 26, 2007 4:30 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  A Douglas County Nebraska jury this week ordered Union Pacific Railroad Company to pay $942,000 to a conductor for the knee injuries he suffered after falling on ice in a parking lot of a hotel where Union Pacific had paid for him to stay. For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Workplace Injuries and Discrimination.

• Kentucky FELA Verdict(2)

  John Inserra | March 15, 2007 1:06 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  An Indiana man was awarded $8.4 million in damages after he was run over by three train cars and lost his left leg as a railroad worker in October 2004. The verdict was $9.3 million Tuesday against his former employer, Louisville & Indiana Railroad Co., for which the jury found the railroad 90 percent responsible.

• FELA Cumulative Trauma Verdict

  John Inserra | February 16, 2007 3:47 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  A verdict in Beaumont Texas was reported for a cumulative trauma spine injury against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

• US Supreme Court Follow Up

  John Inserra | February 13, 2007 4:23 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The United States Supreme Court has ruled in NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY CO. V. SORRELL that the causation standard: "in whole or in part, no matter how small" is the same for the negligence claim brought by the plaintiff and the contributory negligence defense brought by the defendant.

• Welcome to Jim Quilty

  John Inserra | November 03, 2006 3:07 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  We welcome Jim Quilty, newly retired International Vice President of TCU, to the firm as a field representative. IVP Jim Quilty retired at the end of July 2006 after 39 years of union leadership. Jim began his rail career on the Union Pacific Railroad in 1969 in Kansas City where he was a member of Lodge 1489. Jim was General Chairman of System Board 106 from 1992 until elected to assume his...

• FELA - Do I have to Move?

  John Inserra | October 30, 2006 2:59 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The Washington Appeals Court says no. The case of Harris v Union Pacific reverses a trial court's ruling on plaintiff's motion in limine. It appears that the law in FELA, for injured railroad workers, is that while mitigation of damages is an issue, a railroad worker does not have relocate in another state at the insistence of the railroad employer.

• Kentucky FELA Verdict

  John Inserra | September 15, 2006 7:23 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  A jury has awarded a former railroad employee $1.8 million after he claimed exposure to cleaning solvent at work in Louisville and Corbin caused permanent brain damage, reported in the Louisville, Kentucky Courier-Journal.The plaintiff alleged that solvents sickened workers at CSX or companies that CSX acquired, such as the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. Plaintiff had worked for the company...

• Crashworthiness Rule issued by Federal Railroad Adminstration

  John Inserra | August 29, 2006 9:19 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The Federal Railroad Administraion issued its final rule on crashworthiness of a locomotive cab. The rule took effect on August 28, 2006. The purpose of the rule is to have locomotive cabs designed and manufactured to protect crew members from being injured or killed in a variety of crash scenarios.

• US Supreme Court

  John Inserra | June 26, 2006 11:31 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  On May 15, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted review in the case of NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY CO. V. SORRELL :170 S.W.3d 35 CA-MO, E. Dist; limiting the review to whether the court below erred in determining that the causation standard for employee contributory negligence under the Federal Employers Liability Act ("FELA ") differs from the causation standard for railroad negligence. The...